The infamous MGM vault fire

This is mentioned occasionally in one thread or another, but what is the best source (Internet or print) for details on the fire and on exactly what films were lost in the fire? Does anyone know the exact date of the fire?

It was 1965. There's a good article by David Pierce in Film History Vol 9, No 1. An electrical fire sparked an explosion in Vault #7 due to gasses that were being emitted by nitrate prints. One person was killed. For sure, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT was in there, but I believe A BLIND BARGAIN and THE DEVINE WOMAN were among others that perished in the flames.

The liner notes of the Rhino CDs reference the MGM vault fire causing the loss of the deleted musical outtakes from The Pirate, Ziegfeld Follies and Summer Holiday - probably others as well. I had not realized there were 2 fires though.

Luckily for us MGM had already seen the dangers of keeping nitrates and when safety film was introduced circa 1950, it was the first studio to transfer its older titles to safety versions. Probably most of the MGM product from 1924 onwards was saved this way (in a process started in the 1960s and lasting over 20 years), though there were a few that fell through, like the seemingly lost London After Midnight starring Lon Chaney and Garbo's The Divine Woman, of which only a few minutes still exists.

This reminds me of another vault fire: the one at the Fox vault in New Jersey which took place in 1937, destroying a lot of early Fox films, including the first Cleopatra starring Theda Bara.

And this isn't restricted to film vaults either- in 1978 a vault fire in Long Branch NJ swept thru the Atlantic Records depository of original session tapes and unreleased masters, but forunately some previously 'lost items' have been found in the past few years, like some Ray Charles rehearsal tapes that producer Jerry Wexler kept. Those are now on CD as part of the big Ray Charles Atlantic boxed set they put out last year .

Here's a link regarding the destruction of musical treasures held in vaults:

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The fire at Aardman actually destroyed most of the sets and props, but the movies themselves were stored elsewhere and are still safe. It's still very sad that the sets were destroyed, since these were often shown on exhibitions - the sets for the current W&G movie actually escaped the fire because they were "on the road".

Dan, back issues of Film History should be pretty easy to find on ebay or dealers. If you absolutely can't find it, email me and we can work something out.

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Hi there,

I've been trying to find the article quote you mentioned but am not having any luck in seeing it. Is there any way you might be able to help me as I'm writing a book connected with the subject? Thanks.